''Sorocephalus crassifolius'', the flowerless clusterhead, is a flowering shrub that belongs to the genus ''Sorocephalus'' and forms part of the

fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...

. The plant is endemic to the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

where it occurs on the Riviersonderendberge. The plants were last seen in flower in the 1980s. There are only fifteen plants left. The shrub grows only 80 cm tall, tends to spread and flowers from December to February. The plant sprouts again after a fire. The plant is

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

and pollination takes place through the action of insects. Two months after the plant has flowered, the fruit ripens and the seeds fall to the ground where they are spread by ants. The plant grows at elevations of 1280 – 1460 m.

References

Sources

REDLIST Sanbi

Protea Atlas

Plants of the World Online
Sorocephalus Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces Fynbos {{Proteaceae-stub